Israelis say that chocolate sandwiches area to Israelis what peanut butter sandwiches are to Americas: purely delightful and sugar filled ‘witchcraft.’ This recipe takes the national sandwich and gives it a new spin or swirl. Instead of spreading chocolate spread on slices of fully baked bread and calling it a day.
Chocolate Swirl Bread
Servings
1 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup of water
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 1/4 cup + 1 tsp of light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups of warm soymilk
- 1/4 cup of unsalted margarine cut into cubes
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 3 3/4 cups of bread flour
- 2/3 cup of chocolate spread
- 1/4 cup of chocolate chips
- Chocolate sprinkles for decoration optional
Instructions
- Start by laying your baking powder flat on a baking sheet.
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.
- Cook your baking powder for about 30 minutes.
- Immediately place it in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from absorbing moisture.
- Now start preparing your dough by combining your yeast, the tsp of light brown sugar, and 14 a cup of warm soymilk together in a medium bowl.
- Set your mixture aside for 2-5 minutes.
- If it doesn’t begin to poof after 5 minutes, your yeast is dead. Discard the contents of the bowl and start making a new batch with a different package of yeast.
- Beat together your margarine, the rest of your warm soymilk and sugar with an electric mixture on a moderate speed for a couple of minutes in a medium sized bowl.
- Add your spices, salt, and egg to the bowl and mix to combine.
- Pour your yeast mixture into the bowl and mix it in to the batter.
- Gradually add 3 cups of flour to the bowl and mix until most of the batter’s liquids are absorbed.
- Add the rest of the flour to your batter.
- Your batter is ready when it starts to stick together and is no longer clinging to the sides of the bowl. If your batter seems too sticky, you can gradually add up to an additional 13 cup of flour. Your final result should be a smooth ball of dough which should take less than five minutes.
- Place your ball of dough in a greased bowl and let your dough rise in a warm place until it appears to have doubled in size.
- This should take about 1.5-2 hours.
- Once your dough has risen, roll it flat on a flour surface creating a large rectangular that should have about 2 feet by 1foot dimensions.
- Pour your chocolate spread into a heat proof bowl. In order to have an easier time spreading your chocolate spread on your dough, microwave the bowl for 15 seconds.
- Now that your chocolate spread should be a little less stiff, spread it evenly across the dough while keeping a 12 – 1 inch frame around the edges of your dough without chocolate spread.
- Now evenly sprinkle your chocolate chips across the chocolate spread.
- Now roll your dough like you would a deli roll by pushing it away from you. By doing this you should see swirls of dough and chocolate.
- Pinch the two ends of your dough “log” and the final layer of your swirl into the rest of your log in order to prevent it from unraveling.
- Spray a large loaf pan.
- Twist your log of dough slightly, creating spirals out of your singular log of dough.
- Place one end of your log on the bottom of your loaf pan.
- Now wrap around the dough creating a U in your loaf pan.
- Place the remaining part of your dough the middle of your U and pinch its end into the U’s edges.
- Do your best to try to make your loaf as smooth as possible. Your final shape should look a bit like a knot before you smooth it over.
- Place a clean dish towel over your loaf of chocolate swirl bread and let it rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- When the 30 minutes are over, combine your baking powder with 1/4 cup of water. Be sure to mix well for the wash to work.
- Generously brush your baking powder mix over the breads surface and let it rise for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Clean you brush and brush clean water over your bread. Do this a few times, and clean your brush in between because the baked baking powder tastes disgusting. You’re using it as a part of the wash for the sake of science not flavor, so be sure to remove it thoroughly.
- If using, sprinkle chocolate chips on top of your loaf of bread.
- Bake your chocolate swirl bread for 20 minutes at the center of your oven.
- Cover your bread carefully and loosely with aluminum foil for an additional 20 minutes.
- Serve fresh from the oven with a sharp bread knife.
But pareve margarine is disgusting and tastes nothing like butter.
Could the recipe be adapted to make and rise the dough in a bread machine? Same ingredients in bread machine order or would something need to be changed?
I got the technique with the baking powder from the recipe for soft pretzels that I baked in the past.
It will make the crust more crunchy and make the dough even more delicious
Hershey is now making a chocolate spread.
I too am not familiar with your use of the baking powder. I am going to try it. When and what else have you made using the baking powder in this way. ??? Why do you first bake it? Love to try new things, thanks,m
Hello Janet,
The technique is used to make the dough more crunchy. I got the idea from a recipe for soft pretzels that I baked in the past.
Hi Sheila,
You could definitely use nutella.
Send me an email and let me know how it goes!
I am in a rural area, without a Kosher market for many miles, for the Chocolate spread, could one use nutella?
Also, what is the chocolate spread??
It’s like nutella but cocoa based instead of hazelnut based.
Please explain about the baking powder wash.
Along with hearing the response about the baking powder wash, I would like to know why you bake the baking powder for 30 minutes?
Can you explain a little more about what the baking powder wash does? I have never seen a technique like that before
Lol, it’s chocolate spread not chocolate speed, it does however disappear at the speed of light!
Zahava, you can’t substitute oil for margarine. The pastry dough is very buttery in taste and the oil would ruin its consistency.
If you are considering using oil because it’s healthier, I think that when you make bread filled with chocolate you can just embrace the yumminess and forget health for a moment.
LOL, I don’t know what chocolate speed is, it was supposed to be chocolate spread and I fixed it and you can find it at most kosher markets at least.
can you substitute oil for margarine?
What is chocolate speed and we find it in the US?
Your chocolate swirlbread calls for something I am not familiar with, being from America: what is chocolate speed?